evaluation of educational guidance and counselling in finland

Ulla Numminen & Helena Kasurinen

EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

IN FINLAND

Evaluation 5/2003

© National Board of Education

Layout: Sirpa Ropponen

ISBN 952-13-1794-9 (paperback)ISBN 952-13-1795-7 (pdf)ISSN 1238-4453

Yliopistopaino, Helsinki 2003

3

The State of Educational Guidande and Councelling in Finland

Foreword

The student counselling, guidance and information given in comprehensive

school, senior secondary schools and vocational education institutions was

evaluated in Finland in 2001–2002. In the evaluation special attention has

been paid to pupil/student counselling in transitional stages, i.e. when moving

from the sixth to the seventh grade of comprehensive school, from

comprehensive school to senior secondary school or vocational education and

from upper secondary education to work or higher education.

The first part of this report contains the overall design and main results of the

evaluation. The evaluation was based on the model of evaluation of educational

outcomes of the Finnish National Board of Education. The bases of the

evaluation are the goals concerning student counselling in national curriculum

guidelines, educational legislation and other education-related target documents.

In the evaluation, the most central viewpoints of student counselling were

personal counselling, educational counselling, career development and

placement to further education and work, demand and availability of pupil/

student counselling, pupil/student counselling in transitional stages of

education and prevention of dropping out of education and social exclusion.

The second part of this report contains two articles consisting of the initiatives

and developments taken by the Finnish authorities, especially by the National

Board of Education as a result of the evaluation.

In the Appendix 1 there is a short description of the Finnish education system.

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Ulla NumminenAn Evaluation of Educational Guidance and Counselling ....................... 5Appendix A .................................................................................... 31

Helena Kasurinen & Raimo VuorinenInitiatives Generated by he Results of National Eevaluations on GuidanceProvision ...................................................................................... 33

Raimo Vuorinen & Helena KasurinenPromoting National Guidance Policies ............................................... 39

Appendix 1The Finnish Educational System ......................................................... 44

Writers ...................................................................................... 45

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Ulla Numminen

An Evaluation of Educational Guidance andCounsellingIn Basic Education, General Upper Secondary Schooland Vocational Upper Secondary Education and DuringEducational Transitions

Educational guidance an counselling is beginning to attract growing attention

both in Finland and in many other countries, manifested as various development

projects but also as a growing number of evaluation studies of educational

guidance and counselling provision. In Finland, educational guidance and

counselling offered in higher education institutions was evaluated in 2001

(Moitus et al. 2001). An evaluation of educational guidance and counselling in

basic education, general upper secondary school and vocational upper

secondary education was completed in 2002, while an evaluation of educational

guidance and counselling in adult education underway just now will be finished

in 2003. At the same time Finland is taking part, as one of 11 countries, in an

OECD assessment of national guidance and counselling services, that is

educational and career information, counselling and guidance systems. This

evaluation study will be completed in 2003.

What does this increased interest in educational guidance indicate? Within the

OECD, evaluation studies of educational guidance provision have stemmed

primarily from questions linked with transition from education to working life

and/or higher education; in other words, evaluations have focused particularly

on career counselling and careers guidance. Another international emphasis is

lifelong learning, which stresses the acquisition of study skills and the

emergence and maintenance of study motivation from childhood onwards

throughout adulthood. These emphases are linked particularly to the outcomes

of education: how shall education respond to social changes and demands

(OECD 2000, Sweet 2000)?

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Educational Guidance and Counselling in the FinnishEducational System

From a Finnish perspective, this growing topicality of educational guidance

and counselling is a matter of, apart from the above changes in society and

working life, also of changes in the educational system itself. In the 1980s and

1990s, the flexibility of the school system was enhanced on many levels. There

is more scope for student choice in curricula in basic education, general upper

secondary school and vocational upper secondary education alike. Course-

bound and non-graded teaching and periodisation of the school year have

affected teaching arrangements and the organisation of the work of the school.

New modes of learning and new learning environments have been introduced

in education through network-based studying and by making work-based

learning a part of vocational upper secondary education and training etc. There

are changes also in how qualifications are taken: it is possible to take the

Matriculation Examination in three phases instead of one, and in the vocational

education there is an option to take all or parts of a vocational qualification as

a competence-based qualification. Further and higher education tracks have

similarly become more equal as a result of vocational qualifications now giving

general eligibility for higher education (Table 1). On the other hand, these

factors that increase flexibility have also meant that there is more need for and

stronger demand for educational guidance and counselling.

On the other hand again, educational institutions now take more account of

the pupil/student as an individual. Basic studies include optional subjects,

while in general upper secondary school and vocational upper secondary

education students have been given more say in the planning of their studies

through the introduction of personal study programmes. Providers of general

and vocational upper secondary education are required to cooperate locally or

regionally with each other and with higher education establishments, which

expands the scope for individual choice. As a result of this networking,

educational guidance and counselling must similarly be designed to reach

beyond the boundaries of individual institutions, to operate within a regional

network of educational establishments.

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Such an opening up of educational structures affects also the status of

educational guidance and counselling in curricula (Vuorinen et al. 2000). As a

result of expanded student choice, educational guidance and counselling

becomes the core of the curriculum, the nucleus around which what is known

as the individual study programme, constructed from different courses and

modules, takes shape. Accordingly, in the context of curriculum reforms

educational guidance and counselling should be considered as a part of the

strategic component of the curriculum, making it possible to legitimise guidance

and counselling from a perspective broader than that provided by the scope

of an individual study counsellor´s professional activities. To achieve this an

educational establishment must have also a shared vision of the approaches,

defined division of responsibilities among teachers and counsellors, and

resources and administration of its educational guidance provision. Everyone

should have access to guidance services, and there should be measures to

ensure that the students and all staff are kept informed about the services

available and about who is responsible for each given type of service (op cit

50–51).

TABLE 1. Reforms that increased the flexibility of education in the 1980s and

the 1990s.

Curricula

course-bound/modular curricula

increased student choice

credit transfer

taking courses outside one´s own educational establishment

individual study programmes

Teaching

more study projects that cut across subject and institutional

boundaries

distance education, network-based education and other forms of

independent studies

incorporating work-based learning periods into vocational upper

secondary education

Teaching arrangements and scheduling of studies

periodisation

non-graded teaching, modular studies

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changes stemming from an integrated comprehensive school in

basic education

inter-institutional cooperation at regional level

Qualifications

possibility to take Matriculation Examination in phases

skills tests as a part of vocational qualifications

Educational tracks

polytechnics as a new higher education track

expansion of the eligibility for higher education gained in vocational

upper secondary education

Internationalisation

international student and trainee exchange

Internationalisation is another factor that is broadening the range of educational

opportunities, with the result that homes, too, need more information about

these opportunities and the content of study programmes in order to help

their children and young people to choose between the options available to

them.

Evaluating Educational Guidance and Counselling

The Finnish National Board of Education evaluated educational guidance and

counselling provision in 2001–2002, publishing its findings in the report Opin-

to-ohjauksen tila 2002 (Numminen et al. 2002). The evaluation study covers

educational guidance and counselling in basic education, general upper

secondary school and vocational upper secondary education while paying

attention also to educational transitions, or, more specifically, to transition from

grade 6 to grade 7 in basic education, transition from basic education to general

upper secondary school or vocational upper secondary education, and transition

from upper secondary education to higher education or working life.

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FIGURE 1. Project for Evaluating Educational Guidance Provision: A Diagram

(Numminen et al. 2002, 48).

Educational guidance and counselling evaluation was based on the Model for

Evaluating Educational Outcomes (Koulutuksen tuloksellisuuden arviointi-

malli, 1998) used by the National Board of Education, which has the following

three component areas:

- effectiveness, or how effectively the knowledge and skills produced

by education promote individual learning on the one hand and the

development of working life and the rest of society on the other;

- efficiency, or how well and functionally teaching provision has been

organised and how flexibly the education system and its various parts

operate; and

- financial accountability, or how optimally the funds allocated to

education have been used (Figure 2).

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FIGURE 2. Evaluating the Efficacy of Educational Guidance and Counselling

Provision: A Model.

An evaluation of the efficiency of educational guidance and counselling assesses among

other things the quality and availability of guidance and counselling and how

well guidance provision serves the needs of different students; how up to date

it is and how responsive it is to the student on the one hand and to changes in

education and the world of work on the other; what are its pedagogic

arrangements and methods; how up to date they are and how well they work;

the guidance staff and the management culture of the educational

establishment; and external conditions such as the physical facilities (Figure 2).

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Evaluating the effectiveness of educational guidance and counselling involves two main

viewpoints, that of the individual and that of the school system. Assessment

targets such things as correspondence between the need for and the provision

of guidance, that is, how well educational guidance and counselling is able to

promote the development of - learning - to - learn - skills and lifelong learning

skills. Evaluations of each type of school appraised also the general smoothness

of the study path and paid attention to how well prepared the students are for

making decisions about further studies and about entering working life. From

the point of view of the school system this is a matter of how smoothly

educational transitions take place.

As regards the financial accountability of educational guidance, here evaluation

considers the amount and targeting of the resources allocated to educational

guidance and counselling. This involves taking a look among other things at

the number of pupils/students under the supervision of study counsellors in

different school types, the development of educational guidance measures

and so on.

Assessments of educational guidance and counselling draw their evaluation criteria

primarily from the goals defined in educational legislation, the curriculum

guidelines, the Development and Research Plan for Education by Ministry of

Education and other documents that set targets for education and educational

guidance and counselling. During evaluation they served as the source from

which the evaluation questions were derived as a basis for designing the

evaluation indicators.

Right to Educational Guidance and counselling

The 1998 educational legislation strengthened the position of educational

guidance by including the right to pupil/student guidance and counselling into the

regulations of all school types. Pupils in basic education and students in general

upper secondary school and vocational upper secondary education are all

equally entitled to instruction and educational guidance. According to the

regulations, educational guidance is delivered as guidance listed in the

distribution of classroom hours, implemented in most cases as classroom or

small group teaching, with additional individual and other guidance services

also provided.

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The curriculum reforms of the 1990s have retained the central aims of the

educational guidance provision of the 1980s, but the curriculum guidelines

articulated their content in more general terms; in other ways, too, the number

of instructions relating to educational guidance was reduced. This trend is

turning in the curriculum guidelines prepared in accordance with the 1998

educational legislation. The curriculum guidelines governing vocational

qualifications defines the aims of educational guidance with greater clarity

while also making the instructions concerning its provision more binding than

before (e.g. the Vocational Qualification in Metalwork and Machinery 2000,

165, 173). This is the trend also in the basic education and general upper

secondary school curricula which are being revised just now.

Evaluation Design

Figure 3 presents a design for evaluating educational guidance and counselling

provision. The central component areas representing the condition of

educational guidance and counselling, presented in the figure as concentric

circles, were selected on the basis of an analysis of the relevant regulations and

other documents that set targets for educational guidance and counselling. To

ensure many-sided assessment and explore the subject in greater depth, the

different component areas of educational guidance and counselling were

considered from the perspective of several agent groups, described in the sectors

of the figure. The figure does not show the third level of evaluation, which

describes different types of educational establishments. The concentric circles

in the figure are arranged in an order that gives prominence to the perspective

of the educational system. This is why the transition phases and the prevention

of social exclusion are at the centre and why the pupil´s perspective becomes

more prominent as we approach the margins. The size of each sector was

determined with a view to placing emphasis particularly on the viewpoint of

the pupil/student.

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FIGURE 3. Evaluation Design for Educational Guidance and Counselling

Provision: Component Areas and Perspectives of Evaluation.

Some of the component areas of evaluation belong to the educational system

level, some to the individual level:

1) Educational transition phases or transitions are critical stages of an

educational career where the pupil/student is more at risk of

dropping out of education than at other times during their

schooling. Successful transitions can be seen as one indicator that

educational guidance and counselling is working.

2) Exclusion is often linked with educational transitions and with

dropping out. The evaluation study considered the educational

guidance and counselling tools developed by study counsellors and

educational institutions for the early identification and prevention

of exclusion.

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3) A correspondence between the need for and provision of educational guidance

and counselling is based on objectives defined in educational

legislation stipulating that there must be an adequate provision of

educational guidance and counselling. Educational guidance and

counselling and associated provision of other types of guidance and

counselling can be seen as a service system within an educational

establishment intended to help the student to do well in their

studies, promote their well-being and reduce the risk of their

exclusion from education.

4) Promoting personal growth and development is a core area of educational

guidance and counselling. The aim is to increase the student´s self-

knowledge and support the pupil/student as they look for their own

strengths; on the one hand nurturing their individuality, on the

other hand preparing them for a life as a member of society and

enhancing their social skills. Because fostering the student´s growth

and development is a task for the school community as a whole,

evaluation considers also how well the guidance and counselling is

seen as a part of the overall school practices.

5) Helping the pupil/student to make decisions concerning their vocational

orientation and guiding their career choice is a long-term process. As set

down in the curriculum guidelines, it can start as early as in the

lower grades of basic education in the form of general

familiarisation with society and introduction to working life and

occupations, continuing throughout the upper classes and upper

secondary education and even later on. Educational choices -

choosing, in upper secondary education, one´s educational track

and, in vocational upper secondary education, one´s study field - are

particularly critical stages of this process. Students face similar

choices also when they complete general upper secondary school

and vocational upper secondary education and either continue their

studies or enter working life. How difficult the career choice process

is is shown within the school system in such things as failure to

enter upper secondary education, dropping out or switching

programmes and, at the level of the school system, also as multiple

education.

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6) The aim of guidance on study skills and the provision of study support is to

familiarise the pupil/student with learning, help them to find their

own learning style and become aware of any personal learning

difficulties, and reinforce their identity as a learner and prepare

them for lifelong learning. This component area of guidance and

counselling involves also monitoring the student´s study path

within each school form and, to some degree, also across the

transitions and helping them to make the different choices to be

made during their education.

Evaluation Perspectives

The second part of the evaluation design for educational guidance and

counselling provision consists of different perspectives on guidance and

counselling. The pupil/student perspective describes how educational guidance and

counselling appears from the viewpoint of the individual, how it meets the

student´s need for support, how it has been organised, and how well the

counselling services are available.

Study counsellors, again, open up a perspective on the expertise needed in

educational guidance and counselling, on the conditions in which guidance

and counselling is delivered, and on how guidance and counselling is organised

within an educational establishment and on its status there. The principal brings

a perspective on how educational guidance and counselling works as a part of

the operations and activities of the educational establishment as a whole and

how far it is able to contribute to the achievement of general educational

objectives.

The principal is also obliged appraise the school as a guidance and counselling

community, that is, judge how successfully the school community as a whole

and all the teachers are able to promote student growth and learning and,

further, what is the status of educational guidance and counselling in the context

of school management.

The education provider´s perspective on educational guidance and counselling is

linked with strategic management and regional questions and the allocation

of resources for education.

The parents´ perspective is connected with how the parents are informed about

the pupil´s school attendance, studies and choices, and what kind of support

they assume their child is receiving at school.

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Gathering the Evaluation Data

The evaluation surveys were carried out mainly in September 2001. They

covered, retrospectively, educational guidance and counselling delivered in the

school year 2000–2001. The evaluation materials consisted of questionnaire

data collected from provincial administrative boards (N=5), education providers

(N=138), principals/subject area directors of schools (N=460), study

counsellors (N=502), pupils/students (N=8,147) and parents (N=4,050), and

of more in-depth interview materials gathered at regional level and, additionally,

of the sections on educational guidance and counselling in the school curricula.

With a view to gaining information on the transition phases, the surveys were

carried out at a time when the pupils had just made a transition; for example,

the pupils asked to evaluate educational guidance and counselling in the upper

classes of basic education had just started their first year of study in general

upper secondary school or vocational upper secondary education. The

evaluation study surveyed 376 educational establishments. The sample was

nationally representative.

The evaluation data were used to calculate a number of summed variables, the

intention being to employ this condensed group of summed variables to

describe the organisation of educational guidance and counselling provision

and compare the various types of material making up the data and thus assess

the efficacy of educational guidance and counselling. The summed variables

were calculated from questions covering each area of educational guidance

and counselling separately for each pupil/student group, the study counsellors,

the principals and the education providers. Accordingly, different groups had

summed variables with the same names and, on principle, same contents ( see

Appendix A ), which made possible comparison across the different types of

material and contributed to a many-sided interpretation.

Evaluation Findings

Because the evaluation study was based on a multilevel design, the findings

can similarly be considered from the point of view of several different agent

groups. However, it is not possible here to discuss the findings in detail or

from the viewpoint of any individual agent group. Instead, we present below,

on the basis of the publication Numminen and others 2002, the most central

results of the evaluation study as what may be called an overall assessment.

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There are serious shortcomings regarding access to educational

guidance and counselling.

Access to educational guidance and counselling was assessed as follows:

1) determining the number of pupils/students under the charge of an

individual study counsellor; 2) looking at the pupils´/students´, the study

counsellors´ and the principals´ evaluations of how easily available educational

guidance and counselling was; and 3) ascertaining how much educational

guidance and counselling the pupils/students had received or made use of.

In basic education grades 7–9, full-time study counsellors were responsible for an

average of 245, part-time study counsellors for 93 pupils. The number of

pupils ranged between 7 and 530. In general upper secondary schools, full-

time study counsellors were in charge of an average of 288, part-time study

counsellors 182 students, ranging between 16 and 685. In vocational upper secondary

education establishments, full-time study counsellors were responsible for an average

of 510 students, while even part-time counsellors looked after some 220

students. The number of students ranged between 7 and 1,042.

In those schools where the study counsellor has a great number of students,

more than 300, at least some the pupils/students will fail to receive enough

individual guidance and counselling. About a fifth of the comprehensives, a

little less than a third of the general upper secondary schools and a good third

of the vocational upper secondary education establishments covered in the

study belonged to this category. The pupils/students similarly assessed access

to guidance and counselling as at best moderate. At the same time, however,

the students reported that when needed they were able to make a prompt

appointment, which may be assumed to reflect the study counsellors´

responsiveness to the student´s needs. However, such first aid cannot serve as

the foundation of educational guidance and counselling provision.

Adequate support for studies and personal development is not available

to all pupils/students.

According to Finnish school legislation (Acts 628/98, 629/98, 630/98), a pupil/

student has the right to an adequate provision of personal and other guidance

and counselling. The evaluation findings show that this objective is not achieved.

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As the basic education pupils saw it, they had at most moderate access to educational

guidance and counselling (the average value of the summed variable was 3.1

on a 1–5 scale), while the student counsellors rated access lower (average value

2.9) and the principals considered it fairly good (average value 3.7)1.

In basic education, about a fifth (19%) of the pupils had never received or

made use of individual guidance and counselling during grades 7–9. Boys and

pupils oriented towards vocational upper secondary education were

overrepresented in this group, and the group´s school achievement was a little

lower than that of the other pupils. It should be noted here that pupils who

made no use of educational guidance and counselling included also children

who did well at school. Thus, reasons for not receiving or using educational

guidance and counselling can vary. Girls received or made use of personal

educational guidance and counselling a little more than boys.

The general upper secondary school students´ assessments of access to educational

guidance and counselling ranged between rather poor and moderate (average

value 2.7). The study counsellors rated access as moderate (average 2.9). The

difference is statistically significant. The principals gave no assessment of this

subject. A good third (36 %) of the students thought that they had received an

adequate or fairly adequate amount of individual guidance and counselling,

but nearly two fifths (39 %) of them considered that they had not been provided

with anything like enough guidance and counselling. There were regional

differences in the availability of educational guidance and counselling, with

students attending general upper secondary schools in urban areas and in count-

ry municipalities reporting better access to educational guidance and counselling

than students attending general upper secondary schools in smaller towns.

This is a statistically significant difference. In the present data, no link was

found between the size of a general upper secondary school and the availability

of educational guidance and counselling.

The vocational students´ assessments of access to educational guidance and

counselling ranged between rather poor and moderate (average value 2.8). The

study counsellors rated access considerably higher (average value 3.3). A good

third (38 %) of the students thought that they had received an adequate or

fairly adequate amount of individual guidance and counselling, but on the

other hand, nearly half of them (43 %) considered that they had not been

given enough guidance and counselling.

____________________1 5=very good/much, 4=fairly well/quite a lot, 3=tolerably well/moderately, 2=rather

poorly/not much, 5=not at all

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While access to educational guidance and counselling was not, generally

speaking, very easy, a good two thirds of the comprehensive school pupils,

three fourths of the general upper secondary school students and a good

tenth of the vocational students considered that they were able to make an

appointment for seeing the study counsellor immediately or within a few days.

The proportion of pupils/students who reported that it was impossible to

make an appointment for individual guidance and counselling even when they

need it was 4 per cent in basic education, 3 per cent in vocational upper

secondary education and zero in general upper secondary school. Waiting times

might also draw out, up to as much as a month. The study counsellors similarly

reported that there are students - only a few per cent, to be sure - who, because

of a lack of time, receive no individual guidance and counselling even when

they need it.

Guidance and counselling on further studies successful, lowest standards

found in guidance and counselling on study skills, problems with

guidance and counselling on vocational orientation.

The pupils/students, study counsellors, principals and education providers

were asked how successfully the core tasks of educational guidance and

counselling set in the curriculum guidelines are being fulfilled: 1) guidance

and counselling on personal growth and development, 2) guidance and

counselling on study skills and studying, 3) guidance and counselling on

vocational orientation and 4) guidance and counselling on further studies.

As regards guidance and counselling on personal growth and development, the pupils/

students rated its provision as between rather poor and moderate (the

assessments ranged from 2.5 to 3.5). The study counsellor did serve as a source

of support but in basic education for example, only one in ten pupils considered

that the other teachers in their school had supported their personal growth.

The pupils/students rated the provision of guidance and counselling on study

skills as being between rather poor and moderate. To generalise, a fourth of

the general upper secondary school students and vocational students at most

had received significant help with their learning, developing their study methods

and setting themselves study goals. The general upper secondary school

students assessed guidance and counselling on study skills and studying at 2.2,

the vocational students at 2.0 and the basic education pupils at 3.5–3.9.

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The evaluation study found that guidance and counselling on vocational orientation is

one of the problem areas at school. In all types of school the pupils/students

were well aware of the importance of career choice and valued various forms

of familiarisation with working life and occupations. However, the evaluation

study revealed, in many ways, a great need felt among basic education pupils in

particular for knowledge about the world of work and occupations. There was

not enough information on these subjects, while ways of introducing students

to working life are similarly in need of development. According to the students,

there was abundant information on qualifications, but the content of

occupations and of the job tasks entailed by them remained hazy. This is a

serious shortcoming, significant also from a societal perspective.

Even though in basic education career counselling starts as early as in grade 7 and

focuses on grade 9, there were children who were still unclear about their

career choice when they left comprehensive school, and this included pupils

who had opted for vocational education. Half the pupils who had opted for

general upper secondary school explained their decision by saying that it would

give them more time to choose a career. Of those who had opted for vocational

upper secondary education, one in ten reported that they had made their choice

only during the nationwide joint application system; moreover, among this

student group only a good tenth (15%) believed that they had found their own

field, about a third (30 %) were uncertain about the matter and more than a

half said that their chosen study field was not really what they wanted. Thus,

many students already in vocational upper secondary education are still in need

of guidance and counselling on their vocational orientation.

Most general upper secondary school students similarly thought that they had not

been given enough information on working life and occupations; two thirds

had had no working life orientation periods. Other studies also support the

view that students do not accumulate enough experience of the world of work

during their studies and that the impact of the job-related information integrated

into different school subjects and of the information delivered during

educational guidance and counselling lessons tends to remain superficial.

There is an obvious need to develop the methods and approaches of career

counselling. Reaching clarity about a career for oneself is a long-term process

that should begin early; there should also be stronger parent involvement. As

it is, it was not from school but from their own children that the parents learned

most about further and higher education options and career choice. An example

might be provided by development discussions around career choice between

the study counsellor, the pupil and the parents conducted in some

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comprehensive schools. However, the current resources are too limited for

such a method.

Guidance and counselling on further studies is rated high by all student groups (average

value 3.3–4.1). The study counsellors and the principals similarly considered

that it worked well. The parents´ assessment of how well they had been

informed about their children´s further and higher education options was a

little lower (average value 2.9).

Monitoring and feedback systems are flawed. The principals and study

counsellors rate the delivery of educational guidance and counselling

higher than the students.

Educational legislation requires education providers to evaluate their own

operations. As regards schools´ provision of educational guidance and

counselling, the situation is unsatisfactory. Only about a third of the educational

establishments had conducted a self-assessment of their educational guidance

and counselling provision. Less than half the general upper secondary schools

and more than half the comprehensive schools and vocational upper secondary

education institutions had a system for monitoring pupils/students who had

left the school to take up further studies elsewhere or who had dropped out.

However, the principals´ answers suggest that monitoring is not systematic.

Nor are the schools´ internal systems for monitoring and collecting feedback

on their educational guidance and counselling provision working. This is

indicated among other things by the great differences in answers concerning

the functioning of educational guidance and counselling provision between

the pupils/students and the principals themselves. It was also repeatedly found

that the study counsellors rated the delivery of educational guidance and

counselling higher than the students, the principals higher than the study

counsellors. A part of these differences are explained by different perspectives.

However, they may also stem from the students´ views about, for example,

access to educational guidance and counselling never reaching the principal.

Accordingly, when the principals make decisions about educational guidance

and counselling, they do it on grounds not based on pupil/student demand

and need for educational guidance and counselling.

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Factors that increase the flexibility of the school system have heightened

demand and the need for educational guidance and counselling.

Individual study programmes are still an option only for the few.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Finnish school system was made more flexible among

other things by expanding student choice in curricula, by introducing course-

form and non-graded teaching, by making it possible to take the Matriculation

Examination in several phases instead of one etc. These factors which have

increased the flexibility of the educational system have simultaneously increased

demand for and the need for educational guidance and counselling, something

that schools have not taken into account when making decisions about resources

for educational guidance and counselling. Logically, this increased need for

guidance and counselling should have led to a reduction in the number of

pupils/students per study counsellor. What has happened instead is that the

figures for pupils/students per study counsellor have remained the same since

1996.

The principals considered that the need for educational guidance and counselling

had grown, among other things because of changes in the school system and

because pupils/students and families are facing more problems, possibly as a

result of the 1990s depression in Finland. No principal suggested that there

was less need for educational guidance and counselling. It was observed above

that a substantial number of pupils/students never received the educational

guidance and counselling that they needed. According to the study counsellors,

the most important reason for this was a lack of time.

Nor has individual choice been adequately implemented. According to educational

legislation, general upper secondary school and vocational students have the

right to take courses delivered in other educational establishments. Such options

were still far from universally available.

More than one out of ten students (13 % in general upper secondary school,

17% in vocational upper secondary education institutions) reported that it was

not possible, in their school, to take courses offered in other educational

establishments. A personal study programme had been prepared for an average of

half the general upper secondary school students and about a fifth of the

vocational students. While the questions are to a degree open to various

interpretations, the findings do show that a sizable number of students consider

that they have little say in how their studies are planned. This means passing

up an important opportunity to teach students to construct their own study

programmes, an indispensable skill particularly from the perspective of lifelong

learning skills.

23


These results are supported by the principals´ answers, which indicate that in

practice, preconditions for choosing studies in other educational establishments

had been created in about half the general upper secondary schools and in 80

per cent of the vocational upper secondary education institutions.

Developing guidance and counselling environments - using IT to

enhance individual guidance and counselling.

The growing need for educational guidance and counselling cannot be met

solely by increasing classroom-based or individual guidance and counselling

services, although there is an obvious and substantial need to increase resources

also in these areas in order to achieve the targets set in educational legislation

concerning the provision of all students with adequate educational guidance

and counselling.

International evaluation studies (the OECD 2001–2003 policy evaluation of

guidance and counselling provision in several countries, preliminary

information) foreground the construction, not only for adults but also for

young people, of guidance and counselling environments that exploit IT. Thus,

in Finland this would mean starting projects for developing IT-based guidance

and counselling environments in basic education, general upper secondary

school and vocational upper secondary education. Launching such projects

cannot be left to the development initiative of schools or individual study

counsellors alone because designing guidance and counselling environments

of a new kind demands not only resources and expertise in guidance and

counselling contents but also a type of familiarity with using IT in guidance

and counselling that study counsellors, as revealed by this evaluation, generally

lack. As assessed by the education providers, principals and study counsellors,

the standard of IT expertise and facilities in schools are moderate (average

value 2.7–3.7), but only about half of the study counsellors estimated that

they had the knowledge and skills to use IT in their guidance and counselling

activities. The counsellors rated their IT skills as nearly their weakest

competence area.

There are study materials that draw on IT, but according to the study counsellors

they are not very useful. Most of them have been designed for expert use, not

with the needs of comprehensive school-age children in mind.

24


The job of a study counsellor: several irons in the fire, all of them

important. Study counsellors´ qualifications, numerical adequacy and

competence level.

As compared to studies carried out in the early 1990s, today´s study counsellors

are more highly trained. By contrast, their qualification level cannot be

considered satisfactory. Of full-time study counsellors, 79 per cent had

completed the training required of a study counsellor but of all persons giving

guidance and counselling only half had completed the relevant studies. In other

words, nearly half (43%) of all study counsellors were unqualified. The situation

is particularly worrying among recently appointed study counsellors, of whom

80 per cent had no training in educational guidance and counselling. Thus,

those entrusted with the duties of a study counsellor, very much a job for an

expert, start their career, as a rule, without appropriate training.

The findings of the evaluation study suggest that the study counsellors are

strongly committed to their work. In all school types, the study counsellor´s

work consisted of a great number of tasks, many of them without any link

with the core areas of educational guidance and counselling or, in the first

place, with educational guidance and counselling as such, such as substituting

for teachers, supervisory duties, or preparing the school schedule. One reason

behind this multiplicity of tasks making up the study counsellor´s job is that in

an educational establishment, the study counsellor is often the only person,

apart from the principal, working under the total work hours system who can,

as a part of the division of labour within the school, easily be assigned other

than teaching duties.

The problem is that even the study counsellors themselves rated as fairly

important tasks that are secondary from the perspective of educational guidance

and counselling. This suggests that study counsellors feel also more generally

responsibility for the overall functioning of their schools. It is obvious that the

current division of responsibilities within educational establishments does not

allow the study counsellors possibility to concentrate on their core tasks and

on developing educational guidance and counselling, particularly in a situation

where there is more need for guidance and counselling than there are work

hours for delivering it and at a time when guidance and counselling needs are

growing. The amount of overtime was, similarly, worryingly large.

Familiarity with international work and study opportunities and IT skills

emerged as the competence areas that the study counsellors considered their

weakest. Study counsellors serving in basic education knew considerably less

25


about vocational upper secondary education than they did about general upper

secondary school, and according to them there was also less information

available on vocational upper secondary education than on general upper

secondary school. This situation must be considered a serious shortcoming

from the perspective both of guidance and counselling provision and of parity

of esteem between the two educational tracks.

A failure to implement guidance and counselling as a task belonging to

all teachers.

The curriculum guidelines define guidance and counselling as a task belonging

to all teachers, with the study counsellor bearing main responsibility for its

design. The evaluation study took a look at the educational establishment as a

whole as a guidance and counselling community, among other things by asking

the principals whether their school had a guidance and counselling plan and

how far all teachers, in the context of teaching their own subjects, guided

studying or otherwise assumed responsibility for supporting students.

The principals and study counsellors rated their educational establishments as

at best moderately successful as guidance communities (average value 2.9–

3.3). Only one basic education pupil in ten considered that the other teachers

in their school guided studying or pupils´ personal growth, with help with

learning difficulties in particularly short supply. While the pupils´ views are to

a degree open to interpretation, their experience cannot be disputed. The

principals similarly judged the guidance and counselling given by the other

teachers inadequate.

In practice, many teachers spontaneously guide and support, as a part of their

everyday professional activities in the classroom, their pupils/students.

However, the evaluation findings suggest that educational guidance and

counselling in general and guidance and counselling on studying and study

skills in particular has not been defined, in schools´ division of responsibilities,

with sufficient clarity as a duty of all teachers. In reality, the whole school

community is responsible for the students´ studies and for ensuring that their

plans for further studies are realised, whether the various members of the

community make their guidance and counselling contribution systematically

or unconsciously.

26


Poor provision of the skills needed for lifelong learning.

The objectives set in the curriculum guidelines include the provision of lifelong

learning skills. In the present context this means fostering a positive attitude

towards studying, self-directedness in one´s studies, mastery of independent

study skills, and an ability to pursue studies also over information networks.

Educational guidance and counselling has been successful in promoting lifelong

learning skills to the extent that the assessment of self-directedness calculated

from the questions about pupil/student self-directedness was moderately good

(average value 3.4–3.6). Guidance and counselling on further studies was, in

the opinion of the students, the study counsellors and the principals alike,

another strongest area of educational guidance and counselling.

However, it must be considered as a shortcoming that in general upper

secondary school and in vocational upper secondary education, far from all

students have gained experience of extensive independent studies as measured

as a block of studies consisting of at least a course or a credit (study week).

A little less than half the general upper secondary school students and a third

of the vocational students had completed independent studies of this scope,

while as regards network-based studying, only 1.4 per cent of the general upper

secondary school students and 3.3 per cent of the vocational students had

finished studies of similar extent. Moreover, there were educational

establishments where students simply had no access to network-based studies.

One in four general upper secondary school principals and half the vocational

upper secondary education establishment principals reported that network-

based studies were not possible in their school. The last few years have seen a

great deal of resources invested in what are known as virtual school or network-

based instruction projects at the same time as teachers have been given training

in IT with the aim of, among other things, providing support for and guidance

and counselling on network-based studying. According to the evaluation

findings, a good many of the educational institutions are yet to progress beyond

the first stages of these developments.

Educational transitions - successful study paths or dropping out?

The evaluation study covered three central transitions within the Finnish school

system: 1) transition from grade 6 to grade 7 in basic education; 2) transition

from basic education to general upper secondary school or vocational upper

secondary education; and 3) transition from general upper secondary school

or vocational upper secondary education to higher education and/or working

life. The evaluation study considered these transitions from two perspectives,

27


that of the individual and that of the school system. From the individual´s

perspective, the question is whether the pupil/student is given enough information

and support to help them with the choices that must be made during these

transitions. The perspective of the school system concerns the question of how

smoothly such transitions are accomplished.

The schools pay many-sided attention to the transition from grade 6 to grade 7 in

basic education, using several approaches to familiarising the pupils and their

parents with studying in the upper classes. However, depending on the subject,

between about a third and as many as more than half the parents considered

that they had been poorly informed about their child´s transition to grade 7.

According to the principals´ assessment, at this stage an average of 5–7 per

cent of the pupils are not, in practice, sufficiently mature to make the transition

to studies at the upper level of comprehensive school.

The pupils are prepared for the transition from basic education to general upper secondary

school or vocational upper secondary education, as a part of educational guidance and

counselling provision, throughout the grades 7–9. The evaluation study shows

that comprehensive schools took good care over guiding the pupils through

the process of applying for upper secondary education through the nationwide

joint application system, while more than three in four study counsellors

working in basic education gave their pupils what is known as post-application

guidance and counselling on finding a student place. Nevertheless, there are

many student groups that have obviously not been adequately supported in

their choices because they have not been able to make decisions on their

education: 1) pupils who leave basic education without plans for further studies;

2) pupils who move to general upper secondary school without definite plans

only because they want to have more time to decide about a career; and

3) pupils who, after entering vocational upper secondary education, abandon

their studies or switch to another study field because their initial choice proved

wrong. Yearly, this is a group of some 8,5001 young people (pupils who

participate in additional 10th form and pupils who fail to apply for upper

secondary education or take up their student place there).

As was pointed out above in the section discussing guidance and counselling

on vocational orientation, at the start of their upper secondary education a

substantial number of students were, both in general upper secondary school

and in upper secondary vocational education, still uncertain about their (career)

choice. Addressing transition problems presupposes both resources and the

further development both of the methods of and the study materials used in

guidance and counselling on vocational orientation.

____________________1 The size of age cohort in Finland is about 65 000.

28


Parity of esteem between the general upper secondary school track and the vocational track is

one of the questions involved in this particular transition. The evaluation study

revealed a clear disparity in the esteem accorded to these two tracks. The

principals and study counsellors of general upper secondary schools reported

smoother cooperation with educational guidance and counselling provision in

basic education than did the principals and study counsellors of vocational

upper secondary education establishments. Further, there were gaps in the

knowledge that the study counsellors working in basic education had of

vocational upper secondary education. The study counsellors themselves

considered that they had been more poorly informed about vocational education

than about general upper secondary education. These gaps affect also study

counsellors´ ability to provide their guidance and pupils or students with

information on vocational education. Similarly, the parents of pupils in the

final grade of basic education learned more about general upper secondary

school than about vocational upper secondary education.

Among the questions associated with the transition from general upper secondary

school or vocational upper secondary education to higher education and/or working life are

the emergence of definite plans for further studies and possession of the skills

needed to apply for a student place or a job. The problems related to this

specific transition include prolongation of upper secondary studies, a lack of

well-defined plans for further studies, problems with finding a student place in

higher education and/or with finding a job. The evaluation study found that

according to the principals and study counsellors, students were well acquainted

with options for further studies but that less than half the students themselves

considered that they had been well informed about the various higher education

opportunities. This finding may in part stem from the point of time at which

the evaluation was carried out.

As regards students participating in additional 10th form, only some of them had

been prepared a personal study programme as stipulated in the curriculum

guidelines, and additional 10th form is still being delivered partly as graded/

classroom-based teaching. The reason may lie in parallel student needs, such as

raising their grades, but regardless of this, a personal study programme is a

factor that, because it promotes a young person´s growth and development

and fosters a goal-directed approach to studying, cannot be passed over. The

principals estimated that three students in four had a completed plan for further

studies by the conclusion of their additional 10th form. There was no adequate

monitoring of students who dropped out of the additional 10th form

programme.

29


Preventing social exclusion - student monitoring leaves much to be

desired.

The evaluation study did not include those young people who failed to gain a

school-leaving certificate from basic education or never entered upper

secondary education. According to other research, it is young people without

vocational education who are most at risk of exclusion.

The evaluation study looked at the potential and means that educational

guidance and counselling and educational establishments have to prevent

exclusion. The study counsellors estimated that an average of 3.5 per cent of

pupils in basic education and 8.5 per cent of students in vocational education

are at risk of dropping out of or being excluded from education. According

to the estimate of the basic education principals, an average of 5–7 per cent

of their pupils were not mature enough to move from grade 6 to studies at the

upper level of comprehensive school, while some 7 per cent of comprehensive-

school pupils lacked the knowledge and skills adequate for a move to upper

secondary education. As for identifying exclusion, the study counsellors paid

attention to student absences; generally speaking, absences were monitored

satisfactorily, though not in all schools covered in the study.

The most central means used by the educational establishments to prevent

exclusion was the pupil/student welfare team, which operated in nearly all

comprehensives, in 80 per cent of the vocational upper secondary education

establishments and in half the general upper secondary schools. The evaluation

study examined also the resources for pupil/student welfare available in the

educational institutions. On average, a little less than half of them had access

to the services of a school social worker, while the services of a school

psychologists were even less common. This is problematic not only because it

means an inadequate provision of such services but also because in their

absence the study counsellors often found themselves performing also duties

that are normally the domain of a school social worker or psychologist. Such

a situation cannot be considered even tolerable.

All education providers (96 %) saw educational guidance and counselling as

an important tool for preventing exclusion but as against that, substantially

fewer (67 %) considered that they had allocated educational guidance and

counselling adequate resources.

30


The monitoring systems operated by the education providers and the

comprehensive schools did not reach pupils belonging to the above-mentioned

at-risk groups, nor were the schools aware of their later placement in education

or working life or such information was random. It should be noted here that

Finnish schools have no regulatory obligation to monitor their pupils/students;

at the same time, such monitoring might contribute to the schools' own self-

assessment.

31


Appendix A

a) Summed variables describing the delivery and condition of educational guidance and

counselling, which include:

1) guidance and counselling on growth and development

2) guidance and counselling on study skills and studying

3) guidance and counselling on vocational orientation

4) guidance and counselling on further studies

5) choosing a school

6) choosing a study field/educational track

7) choosing subjects

8) individual study programmes

9) access to educational guidance and counselling

10) transition in basic education from grade 6 to grade 7

11) transition from basic education to upper secondary education

12) transition from upper secondary education to working life/higher education

13) preventing exclusion.

b) Summed variables describing the preconditions and situation of educational guidance

and counselling provision, which include:

14) attitudes towards studying

15) quality of educational guidance and counselling

16) condition of and resources available for educational guidance and

counselling

17) IT standard of the educational establishment

18) study materials available for educational guidance and counselling and

their use and quality

19) the educational establishment as a counselling community

20) the status and function of educational guidance and counselling provision

as an aspect of school management and

21) regional cooperation.

c) Summed variables describing the pupil´s/student´s own development and competence

level, called in this evaluation study criterion variables, include

1) personal growth and development

2) study skills

3) vocational orientation

4) preparedness for further studies and

5) self-directedness.

32


References

Koulutuksen tuloksellisuuden arviointimalli [Model for evaluating educational

outcomes]. Arviointi 7/1998. Helsinki, Finland: Opetushallitus.

Moitus, S., Huttu, K., Isohanni, I., Lerkkanen, J., Mielityinen, I., Talvi, U.,

Uusi-Rauva, E. & Vuorinen R. 2001. Opinto-ohjauksen arviointi korkeakou-

luissa [An evaluation of educational guidance and counselling provision in

higher education institutions]. Korkeakoulujen arviointineuvoston julkaisuja

13:2001. Helsinki, Finland: Edita.

Numminen, U., Jankko, T., Lyra-Katz, A., Nyholm, N., Siniharju, M. & Svedlin,

R. 2002. Opinto-ohjauksen tila 2002. Opinto-ohjauksen arviointi perus-

opetuksessa, lukiossa ja ammatillisessa koulutuksessa [State of educational

guidance in 2002. An evaluation of educational guidance and counselling in

basic education, general upper secondary school and vocational upper

secondary education]. Arviointi 8/2002. Helsinki, Finland: Opetushallitus.

OECD 2000. Transition from Initial Education to Working Life. Making

Transitions Work. Education and Skills. Paris: OECD.

OECD 2002. Why Career Information, Guidance and Counselling Matter

for Public Policy. Working Draft no 1. 7.1.2002. OECD. http://www.oecd.org/

pdf/M00024000/M00024123.pdf. Printed out 15 July 2002.

Sweet, R. 2002. An International Study of Career Guidance Policies. In AVO

2001. Ammatinvalinnanohjauksen vuosikirja. Työministeriö. 69B77.

Vuorinen, J. 2000. Opinto-ohjaus - ohjausta koulunuorison keskuudessa. In

Onnismaa & al. 2000, 70-88. [Guidance and couselling amongst the youth at

schools.]

33


Helena Kasurinen & Raimo Vuorinen

Initiatives Generated by the Results of NationalEvaluations on Guidance Provision

In Finland careers information, guidance and counselling services are provided

mainly by two public service systems: student counselling within the public

school system, and the services run by the public labour administration. Schools

have the main responsibility for student counselling, with the guidance and

counselling services of the employment offices complementing these services.

The Ministry of Education is responsible for the organisation of guidance

and counselling services in comprehensive and upper secondary schools and

in higher education. The regulations concerning the educational environments

and system are drawn by the Ministry of Education. The National Board of

Education is responsible for the national curriculum guidelines for different

school subjects, including instructions for guidance and counselling in

comprehensive and upper secondary education. In higher education,

polytechnics and universities are themselves responsible for their career services.

The results of the evaluation projects dealing with guidance and counselling

services have caused the need for development projects. After the first wide

national evaluation project in higher education several development projects

have taken place in 2000–2003. The themes of the projects have focused on

how to minimize the amount of drop -outs and how to counsel and support

the students during their study path so that they finish their studies in planned

time. Different methods used in counselling have also been developed in these

projects.

After the second evaluation project dealing with guidance and counselling

services in basic and upper secondary level education the National Board of

Education has concentrated on developing guidance and counselling services

in these educational settings. Moreover, the guidance and counselling services

delivered in adult education are evaluated in 2003 and there is a plan for

development project dealing with adult education as well.

34


The aim of the national development project is to develop the guidance and

counselling services of different educational settings so that the local plans

for producing counselling at schools follow the new national curriculum

guidelines. The other goal is to coordinate the different projects conducted in

this area so that the good practices born in these projects could be implemented

in counselling services delivered by different educational establishments.

During the development projects the need has raised for describing the different

dimensions of producing guidance and counselling services. The frames for

the following model were developed to create the overall guidance provision

within institutional level in Häme Polytechnic (Hakulinen & Kasurinen 2002).

The goal of the model has been to have congruence between the strategic

planning and the implementation of guidance services. It is focusing both on

the practice and policy. The aim has been to illustrate the transparency of

services both for decision makers and the various service providers. In this

model guidance can be seen as a chain of services and the responsibilities of

different providers can be described in different layers. It also provides a

platform to generate common concepts for different stake holders. As a whole,

it provides one framework to make the best use of existing resources to meet

the demand of guidance services and the needs from different client groups

during the different phases of an individual learning programme.

The model has been developed further so that it can be used as a framework

in developing guidance and counselling services in different educational settings.

The overall guidance provision can be described in seven dimensions:

Contextual dimension - National decision making and policy on guidance

and counselling issues, legislation, national curriculum

guidelines, etc.

Systemic dimension - Description of the contexts, development of the

local and schools' curricula, to what extent individual programmes are

possible, how faculties support the individuals, how the teaching is

organised etc.

Time dimension - Guidance services during different phases of the

individual learning program; pre-entry, entry, on-programme, exit,

follow-up.

Content dimension - Marketing, information, guidance by means of

different communication channels and methods, and the focus of the

counselling practice during different phases of the study path.

35


Area dimension - Psycho-social support, personal guidance, career

guidance, educational guidance.

Responsibility dimension - There must be an institutional plan, which

describes the areas of responsibilities for staff members producing

guidance and counselling services in different phases of the student's

learning programmes.

Methodological dimension - Description of the methods and facilities,

which are in use and how these methods are used.

This model allows variations of the service delivery modes. It also helps to

illustrate the services which can be seen by the users (the 'front office') and the

mechanism which is planning and managing the services (the 'back office').

The model can be completed in more details by the various stakeholders in

institutional level. The time before pre-entry phase is also included in the model

in educational establishments. Planning and co-operation of the staff before

the following study term and student election is included in the model. In each

spring the staff should evaluate how they have managed to reach the goals

settled for guidance and counselling and after that plan again how guidance

and counselling services will be organised in the following year.

The evaluations of counselling and guidance services revealed that the services

have not been able to meet the growing need of counselling among students

in every educational stage. On institutional level the feedback mechanisms are

weak and there is a need for stronger strategic planning and leadership in the

guidance delivery.

The ministry of Education and the National Board of Education have already

taken concrete steps to promote guidance policies and practice. These steps

are concrete evidences of the effectiveness of the evaluation processes. At the

end of 2003 the National Board of Education executes the new national

guidelines for guidance provision and career education in comprehensive and

upper secondary level general education. These guidelines describe the overall

goals of guidance and the minimum level of the content of the curricula.

Additionally the municipalities are required to provide a strategic and operational

plan for the guidance provision and the regular evaluation of services. The

new curriculum guidelines for vocational education were executed in 1999.

These guidelines follow the same principals as those of general education.

36


In addition to the new guidelines the National Board of Education (NBE)

has also made the following national initiatives to promote the guidance policies

and practices:

1) Development of the overall provision of guidance and counselling

services in educational settings. External support for educational

institutes in comprehensive and secondary level and adult

education. Support for regional projects related to transition phases

and cross-sectoral cooperation.

2) Training of school staff and municipal officials for implementation

of the new curriculum guidelines.

3) Evaluation of guidance provision. Development of criteria and

methodology. National Web-based questionnaire for institutional

evaluation is developed in NBE.

4) National programme for in-service training of student counsellors.

The goal is to develop professional expertise of practitioners.

Development of methodology and materials in Career

Management. Student counsellor training units: development of

initial training.

5) Training of regional consultants who are working as student

counsellors in different educational settings. The regional

consultants organise and produce in-service training for teachers in

basic guidance skills and essence of guidance services. In

cooperation with the Ministry of Education NBE is influencing

teacher training units and teacher training programmes to include

guidance issues in training of the future teachers.

The other group of regional consultants provides in-service training for

student counsellors in developing web-based counselling skills. National

3-level in-service training programme for practitioners is developed in

NBE.

6) Management skills of the principals, knowledge on guidance. Holistic

approach and understanding of guidance goals and services. NBE: the

goal is to influence the content of the initial and in-service training of

school principals.

37


7) Guidance services for students with special needs. Training for guidance

professionals in skills to meet students with special needs. Skills for cross-

sectoral co-operation. Student counsellor training units: counsellor

training programmes and in-service training for counsellors.

8) Co-operation with labour market. Integrated and embedded in national

curriculum guidelines.

9) Guidance in transition phases. Guidance in transitional phases will be

developed by means of cross-sectoral co-operation: NBE, Ministry of

Labour, Ministry of Education and Ministry for Social Affairs and Health,

and National joint expert group.

On comprehensive and secondary level the National Board of Education

will implement next year a web-based service to support the institutional

evaluation of guidance. National in-service training and regional pilot

projects will also be promoted. One strategic initiative is to embed

guidance policy issues in national in-service training programs for

principals and school administration personnel.

Within higher education during the next annual contract between the

universities and the ministry of education all the universities must be

able to provide a concrete plan how they are improving the guidance

provision. Additionally, they must have a strategy how they are promoting

guidance issues within the development of new study programs. Within

polytechnics the Ministry of Education is funding regional projects in

developing guidance provision.

39


Raimo Vuorinen & Helena Kasurinen

Promoting National Guidance Policies

The Institute for Educational Research at the University of Jyväskylä together

with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and the National Board

of Education hosted a national seminar entitled: "The future of guidance and

counselling in Finland 2002–2012? - A national seminar on policies for

Information, Guidance and Counselling". The goal of the seminar was to

summarise the results of the national parallel evaluations on guidance provision

and promote further discussions on guidance policies in the next national

strategy for education and research 2003–2008. The seminar organiser

published also a book "Guidance and counselling in Finland 2002". This

publication provides background materials for national joint discussions around

the results of these national evaluations.

The national guidance policy seminar hosted about 250 delegates, policy leaders,

regional authorities, trainers, researchers, stake holders and practitioners. The

delegates were representing both the educational sector and public employment

services. The role of guidance in preventing social exclusion was emphasised

in key note speeches. The importance of long term strategic development to

meet the challenges of the recently published evaluation reports was also

highlighted.

During the second seminar day there were eight parallel workshops for

following themes:

- Why guidance matter for public policy?

- Guidance policies in comprehensive and secondary level education.

- Guidance policies in higher education.

- Guidance policies in adult education.

- Guidance policies in public employment services.

- Policies for multicultural guidance?

- National policies for ICT in guidance.

- Policies for training of career professionals, guidance policies

within the training programmes.

40


The overall focus however, was life long and life wide guidance and counselling.

The workshops made concrete initiatives for further development. The most

crucial policy statement was the lack of trained practitioners. The participants

promoted more coherent national and regional strategies for cross-sectoral

co-operation. There is also a strong need to benchmark good practises in

institutional guidance provision. There is a need for policies for guidance within

transitional stages during life long learning processes. The practitioners need

also learning environments for maintaining and developing their professional

expertise and promoting regional guidance policies. One concrete proposal

was to further develop the current web-based resource centre (http://

www.asiantuntijaluotsi.net) from this perspective. The aim of the service is to

coordinate national networks in guidance and to support the professional

development of their members. Another goal is to strengthen cooperation

between different bodies and sectors of government in the field of guidance.

The service provides currently tools for sharing policy documents among policy

leaders and practitioners. It provides also materials for local policy decisions.

The service hosts also mailing lists and discussion groups for national and

regional purposes. One of the new features will be a national data base of

guidance providers. This will help communication among the practitioners

and policy makers.

41


References

Guidance. Educational and Vocational Guidance in Finland. 2001. Ministry

of Labour, Ministry of Education, National Board of Education & CIMO.

Hakulinen, R. & Kasurinen, H. (2002) Ohjaus ammattikorkeakoulu-

opiskelijoiden palvelujärjestelmänä - luonnos ohjauksen kehittämiseksi Hä-

meen ammattikorkeakoulussa. [Guidance as an overall service for students in

a polytechnic - a framework for guidance services in Häme polytechnic].

Policies for Information, Guidance and Counselling Services. National

questionnaire, Finland. 2002. OECD.

Vuorinen, R. & Kasurinen, H. (Eds.) Ohjaus Suomessa 2002 (Counselling in

Finland 2002). 2002. Jyväskylä. Institute for Educational Research.

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Appendix 1

The Finnish Educational System

The Finnish educational system is described in Figure A. The children start

the pre-school education as 6-years-olds. Compulsory education begins in the

autumn of the year a child turns to seven. The comprehensive school lasts

nine years. There are not any different educational tracks inside the Finnish

comprehensive education but the students study according to nearly similar

study programme. In the new distribution of teaching hours for comprehensive

education (2002) there are 13 annual week lessons for elective studies during

the nine years.

The compulsory education ends at the age 16, but virtually nearly all young

people remain in full-time education for a further three years either continuing

their general education in the upper secondary general schools (54 %) or

entering the vocational education (36 %). Compulsory schools also offer

voluntary extra study opportunities, additional 10th form for those who have

not managed to get a study place in further education institutions (about 3 %

in age group). About 7 % in each age group remains outside the school system

after compulsory education.

Upper secondary schools provide general education. Upper secondary

education leads to the national matriculation examination. Students in upper

secondary education can plan their personal study plan within the limits of

course supply and the maximum time allowed for completing studies.

In Finland the vocational system is highly developed and young people can

select from over 100 different fields. Student counsellors play a significant

role in guiding young people to choose from this wide range of vocational

alternatives. Although an apprenticeship system exists, very few young people

select that track.

Students of upper secondary general and vocational schools can also include

courses from other educational and training institutions in their study

programme. Students in vocational schools can select courses offered by upper

secondary schools, and students in upper secondary schools can include their

study programme vocational schools' courses. This kind of possibility to plan

personal study programmes increases the need for counselling services in both

educational settings.

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Both the students who have chosen the upper secondary general education

and those who have studied in vocational education can continue their studies

either in universities or polytechnics.

The primary way to apply for admission to upper secondary education

institutions, upper secondary schools, vocational schools and folk high schools,

and to polytechnics in the higher education sector, is the national joint

application system. Most of the students are selected on the basis of their

school certificates and grades. Generally, the universities select their students

on the basis of the combination of the grades and the results of entrance

examinations.

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Finnish education pdf

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Writers

Helena Kasurinen, PhD, Counsellor of Education. National Board of

Education.

Ulla Numminen, M.A., Counsellor of Education. National Board of Education

Raimo Vuorinen, Researcher, Licensiate of Education, Institute for Educational

Research, University of Jyväskylä

evaluation of educational guidance and counselling in finland

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